A History of the Cathedral of St. Philip

History2 — A more permanent structure was built on the Washington Street site in 1882, where the Agriculture Building now sits.

History 3 — In 1933 the first service was held in the "Pro-Cathedral" on the present property at the intersection of Peachtree Road and Andrews Drive. The narthex of the Pro-Cathedral opened out towards the south, overlooking the rapidly growing skyline of Atlanta.

Breaking ground — Sam Candler, Dean of the Cathedral, breaks ground at a ceremony celebrating the beginning of the construction phase of the "Let Your Light Shine" campaign.

Before we were designated the cathedral parish of Atlanta, St. Philip's Episcopal Church was established in 1846, with five communicants. Our first building was across from the new State capitol, on what is now the corner of Washington Street and Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive.

By 1875 we were the largest Episcopal parish in Georgia and in 1882 we erected a second building, a large brick church on the same property. In 1893, St. Philip's became the Cathedral of the Diocese of Georgia (all of the state was one diocese at that time).

In 1907, the Diocese of Georgia resolved to divide the state into two diocese, with middle and north Georgia to be known as the Diocese of Atlanta. St. Philip's was designated as its Cathedral church.

By the 1930s, the streets of Atlanta had been built up higher than the entrance to St. Philip's, and much of the parish had moved away. In 1933, under the leadership of the courageous Dean Raimundo De Ovies, St. Philip's Cathedral moved to its present location; the "little gray church" was built atop the hill at Andrews Drive and Peachtree, with its doors opening to the city.

The present Mikell Chapel was finished in 1947. DeOvies Memorial Hall, housing church school rooms and offices for both the Cathedral and the Diocese, was completed in 1951. The parish hall was erected in 1955. The grand Cathedral proper (replacing the little gray church) was dedicated and opened for worship in 1962, and it was consecrated in 1980 (when debt was retired).

In 2004, the Cathedral of St. Philip celebrated the completion of our "Let Your Light Shine" campaign, during which we constructed a new Atrium and education wing, and renovated almost every non-liturgical space in our facility.

In 2024, we began construction of the Good Faith Chapel, a mid-sized worship space with flexible seating arrangements: a new opportunity for prayer and contemplation at the Cathedral!

Now over 165 years old, the Cathedral of St. Philip seeks to continue its history of service to the city and diocese of Atlanta. We hope that our beacon on the hill can deliver the light of Jesus Christ to the world.